Eddie Howe to get 'ruthless' in ending Newcastle careers as 'richest club in world' truth told

Eddie Howe has warned his Newcastle United players that he will be 'ruthless' this summer as the Magpies' head coach makes some 'difficult' decisions about the future of his squad.

Although wholesale changes are not expected at Newcastle next season - the message is evolution rather than revolution - Howe will need to create space for new signings. Newcastle's current 25-man squad is already full and Ciaran Clark, Isaac Hayden and Jamal Lewis were left out to make room for the club's January arrivals.

A number of players departed on loan in the mid-season window, including Jeff Hendrick and Freddie Woodman, but no first-teamer has left the club on a permanent basis since Howe took charge. Newcastle, as a result, are running at about 65% when it comes to wages to turnover, which even part-owner Amanda Staveley admitted was 'probably too high', but there will be departures in the summer.

"It's a never an easy thing to do but I think if you know in your heart it's the right for the team, I'm fully prepared to make difficult decisions," Howe told reporters. "You have to.

"I've said many times that I evaluate the players every day, every game, and you evaluate the players in the good times and the bad times when you win and when you lose. What are their reactions?

"Because we want to build a team that's consistently successful. To do that, we're going to have to make changes so everyone is very aware of that and I'll be ruthless when I need to be."

Howe was speaking little more than a week after UEFA's executive committee approved new financial sustainability regulations in the first major reform of Financial Fair Play since the rules were introduced. Clubs are now allowed to make greater losses of £49.96m (€60m) over a